Having topped the league table for the second season in a row with their big win at Whitchurch HS the previous week, they headed to west Wales to face a resurgent Coleg Sir Gar side that were the only team to beat them in the regular campaign.
Earlier in the day Ysgol Glantaf had overcome Coleg Cymoedd to win the Plate Final 24-12 and Llandovery College had edged past Coleg Gwent to take the Plate 40-31 at Ystrad Mynach, but the main event at Parc Y Scarlets was even more spectacular.
Could the champions hang onto their title and avenge their earlier defeat by Sir Gar? That was the question on everyone’s lips and having been presented with their shirts in the dressing room by former student, and current Scarlets and Wales scrum half Kieran Hardy, the Sir Gar boys tore into their rivals as they went in search of a record fifth cup final triumph.
They led 15-3 at the break, rallied again after CAVC had levelled at 20-20 and went into the final eight minutes with a 10-point lead. At that stage it looked as though they were going to regain the trophy they last won in 2017.
“We really had our backs against the wall for a lot of the game, but we fixed the problems and simply didn’t want to let go of the title,” said CAVC captain and hooker, Saul Hurley.
“The 10-point difference at the end was quite and we showed out character to come back and win it with that great try from Evan Prosser at the death. The replacements are there to do a job, they are the finishers, and Pross did what was required.
“We talked before the game about physicality and work rate. We brought the physicality in the first half and then added the work rate in the second.”
Rhys Mottram kicked the champions into the lead with a penalty after 16 tough and uncompromising minutes. Gabe McDonald responded with a penalty to level matters before Sir Gar took a firm grip with tries from prop scrum half Tom Morgan and wing Harry Fuller.
The first owed everything to the power of prop Josh Morse, who took a tap penalty five metres out and got up to, but not quite over the line. All Morgan had to do was burrow into the ruck and move the ball a couple of inches to bag the try which McDonald improved.
The first of Fuller’s two tries started at a five metre scrum wide on the left and ended up with him crossing in the right corner. That gave Sir Gar a 12-point interval lead and put them in the box seat.
CAVC started the second half with a bang as powerful lock Don Kipulu finished off a drive by No 8 Lucas de la Rua with a try that Mottram converted. Sir Gar responded with a second try from Fuller, neatly created off the back of a line out in the CAVC 22.
Skipper and hooker Harry Thomas came off the back of the maul and fed scrum half Morgan, who then passe back inside to Fuller. The wing still had plenty of work to do and beat four men to score in the corner.
That made it a 10-pont gap, but back came the champions. Mottram kicked a penalty and then they were awarded a penalty try when a driving line-out maul was brought down illegally.
That levelled things up at 20-20 with 17 minutes to go and there was still plenty of drama to come. From the re-start, Sir Gar attacked off the CAVC 22 and Matthew Williams came off his wing to weave a path past five defenders to score a try which McDonald converted.
McDonald then added a penalty to restore a 10-point gap with time running out. CAVC had to dig deep, deeper than ever before, and somehow managed to level things up with a penalty and then a try by lock Evan Saltmarsh which was also converted.
At 30-30 the rules stated Sir Gar would be awarded the trophy on try count, 4-3, leaving CAVC needed to score again. They got into the Sir Gar 22 in the 72nd minute, identified space wide out on the right and managed to work the ball down the line for De le Rua to provide Prosser with the scoring pass.
“The players showed amazing character and resilience to come back and win the game. They simply refused to give up on their dream of doing the double-double,” said a delighted CAVC rugby director, Martyn Fowler.
“I reminded them at half-time about all the hard work they had put in over the past eight months to get to this point. There was no screaming or shouting, no panic, and they went out and did what was required.
“I thought our replacements made a major impact and helped us to get over the line in the end. It really was a complete squad effort.”
CAVC: Scott Delnovo; Blessing Kilonda, Elijah Evans, Tom Hughes, Connor Wilson; Rhys Mottram, Archie Lloyd; Cameron Tyler-Crocott, Saul Hurley (captain), Owain Jones, Don Kipulu, Evan Saltmarsh, Gethin Howell, Evan Weston, Lucas de la Rua
Reps: Jac Saunders, Corey Oliver, Evan Prosser, Ethan Rudyj, Callum Proud, Luke Caple, Owen Hill, Flynn Baker
Scorers: Tries: D Kipulu, Pen Try, E Saltmarsh, E Prosser: Cons: R Mottram 2; Pens: R Mottram 3
Coleg Sir Gar: Steffan Evans; Harry Fuller, Macs Page, Gabe McDonald, Matthew Williams; Elis Price, Tom Morgan; Josh Morse, Harry Thomas (captain), Alfie Evans-Fecci, Jac Newbold, Jac Bennett, Jac Delaney, Tiaan Sparrow, Keanu Evans
Reps: Luke Tucker, Finn Thomas, Jac Pritchard, Jack Stone, Jay Randhawa, Cian Jones, Harri Thomas, Dafydd Rees
Scorers: Tries: H Fuller 2, T Morgan, M Williams; Cons: G McDonald 2; Pen: G McDonald 2
